Rotterdam lost its old city during WWII, so there was a lot of plain land for rebuilding. The city took the opportunity to invite innovative architecture and experimental designs which results in some very unique landmarks that define Rotterdam today.
One of the first experimental designs was by Piet Blom. His iconic cube houses are so quirky and avant-garde, but imagine how avant-garde it must have been in 1974. The idea is to fill this area with life, these houses are inspired by tree houses and are actually situated on a bridge that connects the older parts of the city with the area where the Markthal is now situated.
cubic houses
yellow and grey
sky in a geometric shape
first blooms of the year
chessboard by the window
cubes and blue sky
To be honest, it is not the most practical design. Custom design furniture is needed to fit into the houses, not considering that the only access is the narrow staircase in the stem of the tree-shape building. A lot of the space is not really usable, and the tilted glass windows transform the top floor into a greenhouse during the summer.
inside a cube
There is another yellow landmark in Rotterdam that is also a bridge, and also about connecting urban areas and bringing people together, even more so because this is the first crowdfunded public infrastructure in the world. The Luchtsingel connects three formerly seperated districts, integrated deprived areas to the heart of the city.
Luchtsingel
connections made with construction
You can see that each wooden plank has a name engraved, names of the people who funded this project. The yellow provides an eyecatching structure that attracts tourists, photographers and brings people into the area.
tunnel vision
yellow lines
February 27th – March 2nd 2018
It’s a shame there were no pretty blue skies to compliment the yellow Cubic houses and walkway you visited!
indeed! But it was a fun experience no less.